Mounting rail for sliding window screens



Aug. 11, 1959 Filed June 50. 1953 YN 6 la *l Il rl5 V L le 1 /6 /5 jg g '3 l0 13' ,3a ,3 ,0TH

.F.z' f. 5

l INVENTOR. l0 'vz Ja-.1 7- 4 HENRY. JI BlANo United States Patent O MOUNTING RAIL FOR `SLIDING WINDOW SCREENS Henry J. Bianco, Baltimore, Md., assignor to The YBurch 1Company,Baltimore, Md., a corporation of Maryland ApplcationJune 30, A19,'5.1,'Serial No. 365,054 2 Claims. f (Cl. v416th-90) The present invention relates to "mounting rails for sliding windowfscreensfand, more'particularly,`to mounting vrails `embodying Vprinciples adapting the same for use with practically any type ofwindow frame.

The principal object of the -invention is .to `provide mounting rails for window screens particularly adapted for use with .metal window frames,` yand which rails are adapted `to lbe quickly mounted upon such frames, or removed, 1in amatter of aYfew seconds :and without requiring the use of any tools.

Another object iis to .provide screen mounting rails constructed so'th-at they'automatically clamp themselves inposition 'by frictional engagement with azsash guide or head'on awindow frame with sufficient pressure to maintain ythe same stationary against any force tending to move the same up or'down as thescreen l.is raised or lowered, notwithstanding the fact `that the screen mounting :rails are :also :preferably frictionally engaged, but with lesser force, with the screen itself.

Another object is to provide mounting rails for a sliding screen which. will .frictionally retain the screen in any desired position of adjustment relative to the rails, without exerting excessive pressure on the screen frame, such as would tend "to score, scutf or gall the metal of Athe screen.

A further object `is to provide's'creen mounting rails for 'mounting ya screen 4upon Va metal `Win/dow frame constructed so ythat 4the -screencan be made of a `maximum Vwidthfandof a height at -leastequal tothat ofthe lower sash and positioned in the mounting rails after the rails have been mounted in place on the window frame.

A still further object is to provide screen mounting rails adapted to be attached to a window frame in such manner as not to interfere with the lowering of the upper sash.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is an elevational view of one form of metal Window frame having screen mounting rails embodying the p-rinciples of the present invention associated therewith for guiding a sliding screen;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the staggered line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the upper end of one of the screen mounting rails; and

Pig. 4 is a plan view of one of the screen mounting rails.

Referring now to Figs. l and 2, the window frame is generally identified by the numeral 1 and comprises side members 2 having a top member 3 and a bottom member 3a disposed at the opposite ends thereof. Each of the side members 2 includes a channel 4 for an upper sash 5 slidably disposed between a sash guide or bead 6 and a parting bead 7. It will be understood that a similar channel and sash lguide are provided for the lower sash (not shown) on the opposite side of the parting bead 7. Weather stripping 8 is secured to the opposite edges of ticularly disclosed in my application, Serial No. 365,055,

filed on June 30, -3, which issued into a patent bearing No. 2,782,885.. The weather stripping 8 is lreceived in the channel 4, as is Ibest-shown in'Fig. 2.

The screen mounting rails lconstituting thev present invention are generally identified 'by Athe numeral =101ani1 each rail comprises a Vresilient strip Yof metal Awhich I"is -generally S-shaped Vin `transverse cross section, as viewed at the lower right-hand corner of Fig. 2. It will be understood vthat one of the rails V10 is associated with 'eachnf the side members 2. 1Each of therails lincludes atbottorn Wall 11 and -side walls 12 fand 13, which provide/a. channel `14 adapted to receivea side frame member r-15 of a screen generally -identified by the Vnumeral 16. The screen frame is preferably fabricated from aluminum alloy sectionsof conventional design. Alportion 17 ex-I tending Afrom therside wall 12isreverselylbent or folded, as indicated 'at 1S, to provide a 'second channelr 19 adapted to receive the sash -guide `6 of `the side :member 2 of the window frame. The portion 17 is preferably bent so that itslopes orlis inclined toward the .wall .'12, rather than being disposed inparallel relation thereto. The .purpose of thus 'bending'the portion 17is torequire the same to be spread away from the wall 12 when ythe screen guide .rail .10 is mountedxupon'the sashguide 6, :the portion 17 then Ybeingdisposed vbetween said `screen guide rail andthe adjacent portion of the-weather strip 8. This assures a tight clamping t of the screen rail .10 on the guide 6. Moreover, rthe side wall 12 liesush with 'the guide 6 and the bottom wallf1-1 :remains substantially perpendicular yto said side wall.

lt vwill also be noted that the portion 17 is rof less width vthan the side wall 12 and has its free end curved outwardly at 17a, so that no difficulty isencounteredin introducing the sash guide 6 into the chan-nel 19 during the mounting of the rail 10 on Athe Vguide 6. It will be further -noted that the edge of .the side wall l13 remote from the bottom wall 11 is also turned outwardly `so ,that a `somewhat rounded zoneof contact 13a Vis `provided .between the wall 13 land -the adjacent face of the screen ,member v15. .The wall 13 is alsopreferably inclined 4in- .wardly `toward the wall 12, rather `than disposed .parallel thereto, so that the wall 13 must be spread away from the wall 12 at the time that the screen is mounted in the channel 14. This construction assures that the end portion 13a of the wall 13 will always frictionally engage with the screen member 15. The bending of the side wall 13 is preferably such that it exerts only suicient force to maintain the screen 16 in any desired open position of adjustment through the frictional Contact thereof with the side member 15 without scoring or marring said side member. It will also be noted that the bottom 11 of channel 14 is slightly wider than the side member 15 of screen 16 (Fig. 2), and that the side wall 13 frictionally engages the side member 15 only along the end portion 13a with substantially a line contact. This construction reduces friction between the guide rails 10 and the screen', making it easy to raise and lower the screen, ye-t provides a good seal and suflicient frictional resistance to retain the screen in any adjusted position.

The screen mounting rails 10 may be made of zinc alloy, or of zinc coated steel to provide a good bearing surface against the aluminum alloy side members 1S of the screen 16, and thereby further avoid any tendency for the rails to either score, scuit` or gall the side members 1S.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, it will be noted that the upper portion of the side Wall 13 is cut away for a sub stantial distance below the upper extremity of the bottom wall 11 and the side wall 12. The overall length of the rails 10 is greater than the height of the screen 16 and,

Patented Aug, 11, 1959 in fact, is such that the portion 17 slightly overlaps with the weather stripping 8 at the lower end of the upper sash 5. Such overlapping assures that the upper sash will always be free to be lowered without any possibility of said sashcatching on the upper end of the rail portion 17. On the other hand, the upper end portion of the side wall 13 of the screen guides 10 is cut away for such a distance that the upper edge of said side wall lies below the upper edge of the bottom sash (not shown). In any event, the distance between the upper edge of the side wall 13 and the upper member 3 of the window frame 1 is such that it is less than the overall height of the screen 16. It is possible, therefore, to position the screen in confronting relation to the upper sash 5 and to lower the same into the channels 14 provided by the screen rails 10, while said rails are in place upon the window frame.

It will be apparent from the foregoing, that the rails can be readily mounted upon the sash guides 6, by simply inserting the wall portions 17 into the channels 4 between the sash guides 6 and the weather stripping 8. This can readily be done by hand, without the use of any tools, and Vin a matter of a few seconds. This feature is of extreme importance from the standpoint of installation labor costs, and has great appeal to home owners who prefer to do the installation themselves. The rails 10 can likewise be removed with the same ease, when desired. While the sash guides 6 are preferably tightly clamped between the side wall 12 and its extended portion 17, it will be apparent that once the screen 16 is in position, it is impossible for the screen mounting rails 10 to become disassembled from the sash guides 6, since the screen 16 prevents all inward movement of said rails.

It will also be apparent that the rails 10 can be readily fabricated by rolling strip material into the cross-sectional shape shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, and that while zinc alloy has been indicated to be the preferred material, any other corrosion resistant material such as stainless steel, bronze, etc. may be employed if desired, inasmuch as the particular material from which the screen guide rails is fabricated is not critical, although certain advantages can be gained by employing the particular materials specied herein.

It will also be apparent that the channel 19 may be made of any width and/or depth to suit the sash guide with which it is to be associated, including guides on wooden Window frames. Similarly the channel 14 can be r4 made of a size to suit any given type of sliding screen structure.

It will be understood that various changes may be made in the details of construction of the screen mounting rails 10 disclosed herein to adapt the same for use with window frames having side members differing in crosssection from that of the side members 2, without departting from the principles of the invention or the scope of the annexed claims.

I claim:

l. In combination, a metal frame comprising confronting side members, a top member and a bottom member, each of said side members having window sash guide means including integral flanges projecting inwardly from said side members and providing a groove for a window sash; screen mounting rails attached to said side members, each of said screen mounting rails being generally S-shaped in transverse cross section and having a first channel receiving one of said anges and having a second channel for slidably receiving one end of a screen therein; and a sash slidably mounted in said sash guide means, said grooves for the sash being substantially wider than the thickness of the sash, said sash having weather strips mounted thereon and disposed in said grooves, a wall portion of said mounting rails being disposed between said one flange of the side members and the weather strips on the sash.

2. The combination recited in claim 1, in which said sash is the upper sash of a double hung window, and in which said mounting rails have a length shorter than that of the window frame, but being of such length that, when the mounting rails are positioned in the lower part of the frame, said wall portions of the mounting rails extend above the lower end of said top sash a sucient extent to prevent said sash from catching on said mounting rails when said sash is lowered.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,255,936 Mayer Sept. 16, 1941 2,419,425 Sylvan Apr. 22, 1947 2,477,942 Renton Aug. 2, 1949 2,549,031 Sylvan Apr. 17, 1951 2,600,283 Sylvan June 10, 1952 2,761,498 Reinhardt Sept. 4, 1956 

